The Yakovlev MC-21 (until June 2026: also known as Irkut MC-21, / Ирку́т МС-21) is a single-aisle airliner, fully developed in Russia by the Yakovlev Corporation (formerly known as Irkut Corporation), a branch of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), itself a 92%-owned subsidiary of Russia's state-owned aviation giant Rostec. The aircraft made its maiden flight on 28 May 2017 from Irkutsk.
In December 2021, Russian type certification was granted for the MC-21-300 variant powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines, ahead of its planned introduction with its launch operator Rossiya. However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the aircraft was denied European certification in March 2022.
After international sanctions against Russia were imposed in 2022, Rosaviatsia announced that the MC-21-300 model powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines would not enter service, and the MC-21-310 powered by Russian-made Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines would be the only production model. In addition, most components would be designed and built locally by Russian companies, resulting in more than 80 per cent of MC-21 parts being produced in Russia. Due to the additional work necessary to integrate the Russian components, the first commercial delivery was delayed until 2027.
Name, designation and manufacturer In Magistral'nyj Samoljot 21 veka translates as "mainline aircraft of the 21st century". It is marketed in the West as the MC-21, though the aircraft's Russian-language designation transliterates as .
In 2013, Russian deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin indicated that the plane would be designated Yak-242 once it entered serial production, the name of a 1990s proposal of an aircraft of similar size. In 2014, Oleg Demchenko, the president of Irkut Corporation at the time, also preferred the Yak-242 name, claiming it would better reflect the design bureau behind the aircraft. However, he has also said that any renaming decisions would be made after the aircraft's first flight and certification work.
In August 2023, Irkut Corporation formally rebranded the entire company as Yakovlev.
Development
The program was launched in 2007, planning a 2016 introduction. In 2009, the MC-21 was in the "pre-design" phase, with projected completion of the first prototype in 2013 and the first flight in 2014. By June 2011, the "pre-design" phase was completed and the "working design" stage was under way with three-dimensional models and drawings for subcontractors and suppliers, to be completed by mid-2012. In February 2012, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin announced it was slated to begin certification tests in 2015/2016 and to enter production in 2020. The unit cost of the MC-21-200 is US$ 72 million, and US$91 million for the MC-21-300.
On 8 June 2016, the -300 was rolled-out in Irkutsk, East Siberia, six years after program launch and with 175 orders. It could be the first commercial aircraft to use out of autoclave composite manufacturing for its wings. The program faces domination of the single-aisle market by Airbus and Boeing. Russian protectionism is hampering access to critical western suppliers for the avionics, landing gear, hydraulics, power systems and engines. Its introduction was delayed to the end of 2018. It is comparable to the Airbus A320neo or Boeing 737 MAX and could replace the outgoing Tupolev Tu-134, Tu-154, Tu-204 and Yak-42.
Ground testing
In February 2017, it passed 90% of the static ultimate load test (150% of the highest load in operation) at the TsAGI but failed the 100% test for which the wingbox will need reinforcements: this is common for new airliners like the Airbus A380, Boeing 787 or Mitsubishi MRJ, aiming for the smallest possible margin to avoid excess weight; it passed the limit load test (highest load during flight) which enables flight testing which should start in April. Cracks developed at the point of contact between the titanium beam and the composite wing skin in the wingbox. The reinforced wingbox withstood a load exceeding specifications without damage in mid-November at TsAGI Moscow.
In May 2017, it was undergoing systems ground testing including its auxiliary power unit and taxiing tests. After completing taxi and runway roll tests, its maiden flight was scheduled for late May 2017 with Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines, certified in September 2016 in Russia. The Russian certification was targeted for 2018 and the European Aviation Safety Agency certificate for 2019.
Flight testing with P&W engine
On 28 May 2017, the MC-21-300 completed its successful maiden flight in Irkutsk. Compared with recent 3-to-4-hour maiden flights of western types, this first flight was brief at 30-minute and low, reaching a altitude and . The maiden flight was originally scheduled for December 2016, then to April before finally taking place in May.
Following this maiden flight, trade and industry minister Denis Manturov claimed it will have 12–15% lower operating costs than contemporaries, generating a demand for over 1,000 MC-21s between 2017 and 2037. Aeroflot expected delivery of the first P&W-powered aircraft through Rostec subsidiary Aviakapital leasing in 2019. Its early production rate was projected for 20 aircraft per year.
In August 2017, the first prototype performed nine test flights, analysing stability and controllability in various configurations, altitude, altitude/speed sensors accuracy and engine operation. Its software was adjusted by the results as it was fitted with over 500 strain gauges measuring in-flight loading on the airframe, to verify the initial design, for "several weeks". A second prototype was finalised while three other prototypes were undergoing construction; production of 70 MC-21s annually was initially planned for 2024. Irkut began the second testing phase on 13 September with an eventless 2-hour flight. The phase extended the mass, centering, speed and altitude envelope.
In October 2017, the first prototype flew from Irkutsk Aviation Plant to Moscow Ramenskoye Airport to continue testing at the Gromov Flight Research Institute, a 6-hour flight over at . The flight test programme started on 2 November with a 3-hour flight reaching . Before being flown to Moscow, 20 flights were conducted in Irkutsk. In November, the second prototype was prepared for flight-tests, followed in 2018 by the third for which final assembly has started.
EASA approval was targeted for mid-2020. Certification testing was to start at the end of 2018 for a mid-2019 Russian type certification after a 1,150 flights effort. Entry into service was then planned for the second half of 2019 with the first five deliveries; within five years, UAC planned to ramp up production to 70 aircraft per year.
The second test aircraft was in final assembly in January 2018 and was to join the flight-test campaign in the first quarter. It was to fly in late February or early March 2018. Its construction was completed by the end of March. It was scheduled to fly in April 2018, and the third test aircraft was to fly in the 2018 fourth quarter. It made its first flight on 12 May for 1 hour 7 minutes, reaching and , checking its landing gear retraction and testing wing configurations. On 20 July 2018, it flew from Irkutsk to the Gromov Flight Research Institute near Moscow in six hours.
Initial production steps started in 2018, certification slipped into late 2019 and the first delivery to 2020. For three years after 2018, UAC planned to invest ₽ billion ($ million) for the MC-21. By October 2018, two EASA test pilots and a test engineer test flew the plane in preparation for European certification. On 3 December, a fuselage was delivered to the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute at Moscow-Zhukovsky for fatigue testing: repetitive loads will simulate 180,000 cycles. By then, the third flying prototype was assembled, its systems installed and it was undergoing final adjustments, a fourth test aircraft was in assembly, as the first production fuselage. After completing assembly, the third MC-21 was transferred to the flight-test station on 25 December.
By early 2019, the two prototypes had completed 122 test sorties, and following international sanctions against Russia, 1.6 billion roubles ($24.2 million) of additional subsidies were allocated to the program for 2019, followed by 4.11 billion roubles in 2020 and 4.81 billion roubles in 2021: Russian technical content was aimed to be 97% by 2022. The program cost is 438 billion rubles (US$ Bn) In February 2019, the EASA completed initial certification testing with 2.5-to-4-hour flights up to , including high angle-of-attack and stall onset. By then, certification trials were expected to end in the second half of 2020 before first delivery to Aeroflot by the end of the year.
On 18 February 2019, Rostec delayed entry into service for another year to 2021 due to US sanctions, while another 240–250 billion rubles ($3.62–3.78 billion) was needed to complete development. On 16 March 2019, the third test aircraft, which had been fully fitted out with a passenger cabin, made its maiden flight. After painting at Ulyanovsk, on 13 May 2019 it joined the other two test aircraft at Moscow-Zhukovsky Airport, where the certification programme was being conducted.
On 17 September 2019, the third test aircraft made its first international flight from Moscow-Zhukovsky to Istanbul Atatürk Airport. The aircraft was presented to Turkish Airlines at Teknofest Istanbul, and co-production projects were proposed to Turkey. The fourth flight-test aircraft was rolled out on 28 November 2019, and performed its first flight on 25 December 2019.
Transition to Russian-produced parts
In January 2020, Irkut received the first Russian-designed PD-14 engines for installation. A PD-14-powered MC-21-310 made its maiden flight on 15 December 2020 from Irkutsk. In December 2021, Irkut carried out the maiden flight of the first MC-21 to be manufactured with domestically produced composite wings. By October 2022, Irkut had fitted the first flight-test aircraft with PD-14 engines and other domestically produced components and flown a test sortie in the new configuration. The aircraft was to participate in the certification programme, targeted to be completed by the end of 2022.
In 2022, after international sanctions against Russia were imposed due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rosaviatsia announced that Russia would only use domestic engines. The original model – the MC-21-300 powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines – would not enter service, and instead production would have to wait for the MC-21-310, powered by the Russian Aviadvigatel PD-14 engine, built by the United Engine Corporation.
The production MC-21-300 was initially planned to consist of between 40% and 50% imported parts, and Irkut needed to replace parts that were to be supplied by the sanctioning countries. The need to use Russian avionics was said to delay the first shipment of an aircraft to late 2024 or to 2025. However, as part of a plan announced in June 2022, aimed at bringing the proportion of domestically produced aircraft to 80% of the Russian fleet by the end of the decade, deliveries of the MC-21 were expected to start in 2024 and reach a delivery rate of 72 aircraft per year by 2029.
In April 2025, according to UAC, the aircraft had received several sets of new Russian-made avionics equipment, including computers, navigation systems and radio communications equipment, as well as a domestic auxiliary power unit, air conditioning and pressure control systems, among others.
State aid for late-stage development